A large swath of states extending from Texas up to the Northeast reported below average temperatures for the month. Warmer than average temperatures were reported across the desert Southwest and in Florida.

The average temperature of 41.6 degrees was just 0.3 degrees below the 20th century average, ranking near the median value in the 119-year period of record. Continue reading →

FRISCO — Despite the near absence of record heat across the contiguous 48 states, the summer of 2013 (June-August) ranked as the eighth-warmest on record, with an average temperature of 72.6 degrees, about 1.2 degrees warmer than the 20th century norm.

The data tallied by the National Climatic Data Center suggests an era of new normals, with temperatures running well above historic averages even in non-El Niño years. Taken separately, August 2013 was the 28th-warmest on record with an average temperature of 73..1 degrees, 1 degree above the 20th century average. Read the full report here.

SUMMIT COUNTY — Despite a couple of Arctic outbreaks and cooler than average conditions across, the West, the average January temperature across the contiguous 48 states was well above the 20th century average, with the warmest readings from the eastern half of the country, and especially the Southeast, where several states reported near-record warmth.

Dry conditions across much of the country; 2012 still on track to be warmest year ever

Above average temps were widespread across the West, with cooler-than-average readings in the East that kept Nov. 2012 from cracking the list of top-10 warm years. Graphic courtesy NOAA.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — These days, it takes more than a 2-degree temperature anomaly to set records. This past month will go down as “only” the 20th-warmest November on record (tied with 2004) even though the average temperature for the lower 48 states was 2.1 degrees above the 20th century average.

For the year to-date, temperatures are still far above average and barring any significant shifts in December, 2012 will likely become the warmest year on record for the contiguous states, according to the National Climatic Data Center’s monthly update. Continue reading →

Near-record heat prevailed across the West, with a small patch of cooler-than-average temperatures in the Midwest.

Heat wave shifts west, with much of the eastern U.S. reporting near average temps for the month

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — A brutal summer-long North American heat wave eased up last month, but the monthly temperature was still 1.4 degrees above the long-term average, making it the 23d warmest September on record, and the 16th month in a row with above-average readings in the contiguous 48 states.

The month also brought record and near-record dry conditions to the Northern Plains and Northwest, according to the National Climatic Data Center’s monthly update. Hot readings shifted west, with multiple states states from California through the interior West reporting September readings among the top-warmest on record, including Nevada (third-warmest) and Utah (ninth-warmest). Continue reading →

The July temperature averaged 77.6 degrees, beating the previous all-time record of 77.4 degrees set in July 1936. Near-record heat prevailed from Idaho and Montana across the central states, into the Midwest and to the Southeast all the way to Georgia. In total, 32 states reported top-10 high temperature readings in July, with seven states reporting their second warmest July on record. Continue reading →

A new climate change study casts doubt on the ability of wolverines to survive in the face of climate change. PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A targeted climate-change study by scientists with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder suggests that rising temperatures may completely eliminate existing habitat for wolverines in the contiguous United States.

“The researchers combined regional-scale climate projections with knowledge of a single species and its unique habitat to examine its vulnerability to a changing climate,” says Sarah Ruth, program director in National Science Foundations Directorate for Geosciences, which funds NCAR. “This study is an example of how targeted climate predictions can produce new insights that could help us reduce the impact of future climate change on delicate ecosystems,” she said.

Climate change is likely to imperil the wolverine in two ways: Reducing or eliminating the springtime snow cover that wolverines rely on for raising their young, and increasing August temperatures well beyond what the species may be able to tolerate. Continue reading →